Alabama

#FreeColin Hoover students use social media to protest punishment

There is just something about Twitter that makes it one of
the most engaging and popular social media websites to date. Yet, that same "something" has failed to move
me to join-until recently, when friends of a local high school student used the
social media platform to engage, organize and protest. My interest was sparked after reading the
FaceBook Newsfeed. It was abuzz with
#FreeColin hash tags everywhere-posted by some of my "younger" friends. The posts went a little like this, "something,
something, Colin who goes to Hoover, ISS,
cheating, IPads, civil disobedience, homework and administration versus
students." Intriguing, right? In spite of the popularity, all I could
gather initially was that this kid Colin, had become part of the Twitterverse
and a cause was born.

Social media is just that-extremely social, very
public (if you want it to be,) and its events unfold in a real-timeline. But, when it comes to telling an accurate
story, sometimes the best you can get is "gist" of what happened, and nothing more. So, after some creative searches and intense
page hustling, it became obvious that an online movement was growing in
support. I had to be quick, because just
like a "no comment" response, posts to social networking sites can be deleted,
disabled, blocked and dropped in the blink of an eye- taking with it the
mystery of what was unfolding. Here's
what I found:

The first sign of
trouble appeared online February 19th, in the form of a supportive Tweet
to @colcolknight:

@CalenCampbell Colin, I'm gonna hold you down in Economics
class bro!

February 19th- #FreeColin becomes so popular that it "trends" on
Twitter. Don't believe me, check out
these links publicly posted by supporters:

The "movement" spread so fast, strategically engaging its supporters
that many of them joined a cause they knew nothing about.

@ksspurlinggg all I know is that he goes to hoover but
what'd be do?

And, so it went. From
Hoover High School, to Spain Park, Vestavia, Georgia and Worldwide. Freeing Colin had become more popular than
tags for #Burma, #Gaza, and #Syria and the Oscars (#Oscaring.) Some tweets even called for federal
intervention:

@ElephantHeist@Barack Obama are you going to just sit there
and allow this injustice to go unaddressed? #freecolin

I learned from Twitter posts, that @colcolknight, received
some type of disciplinary action from Hoover High School administrators, for purportedly
sharing homework on a district purchased IPad.
The punishment did not sit well with some of @colcolknight's classmates,
who believed that sharing homework was not considered dishonest. So, on February 19, 2013, a movement began
and a virtual star was born. #FreeColin

Jpizz15@YourAonews @Anonymous Press @AnonyOps help us out
here a student was wrongfully suspended for copying a homework

@McDurmont_116 it's not cheating, it's just helping someone
commit their random act of kindness for the day #freecolin

It wasn't just friends of the "imprisoned" Colin, but former
students and parents chimed in as well.

@CourtneyMurr okay I get if people were sharing test answers
that's bad, but homework?? Really?
You're going to suspend someone for sharing homework?

@momoishere #hoovercity schools better not take any of my opinions
on #freecolin out on MY kids or they will have a war!

There was one person on the fence about the alleged
punishment- @abbieknight23 let my brother out!
But maybe not to soon cause he's doing dishes this week for getting in
trouble!!

The online controversy continued on the 20th,
with students tweeting pics of themselves dressed in DIY "freecolin,
freerebecca, freejordan, freesandra" white tees, proposing sit-ins and sharing
alleged school punishments for participating in the demonstrations ranging from
in-school suspensions to being unable to participate in school-related
activities, including graduation.

@RosalieAlfano Hoover, you said if we wore "freeColin"
tshirts, we couldn't walk. FREEDOM OF
SPEECH. Look it up, it's in the book.

@Hunter_L_A_ Hoover raised me to stand for what I believe
in, asking me to do otherwise is contradicting

That is just what many of @colcolknight's supporters were
doing-taking a virtual stand for what they believed was unfair. The sharing of homework electronically is
undoubtedly an unintended consequence of Hoover's technology initiative, which
according to its blog, says the school is "working to increase student
achievement, via student engagement and building relationships with a focus on
technology." The district probably had
no idea that despite how awesome, technology in the classroom can also work
against you. Of course, there wasn't a
hint of trouble on @HooverSchools, and on February 20th, a single
tweet alerted followers that @colcolknight had been "freed, well sort of." And with that, the revolution ended, and
timelines of teens everywhere reverted back to the two word status updates,
endless love professions and soccer scores. The revolution was live.

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